which is Blagojevich Senate selection Senate selection process investigated?
A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned. Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends. The governor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The specific contents of the recent recordings have not been disclosed. Blagojevich has said the appointment of a Senate successor, which is his choice alone, could come in a matter of weeks. Speaking to reporters Monday for the first time since the Tribune revealed federal investigators had recorded him and others
Senate Appointment Tainted by Blagojevich Chicago Defender, News Report, Kathy Chaney, Posted: Dec 10, 2008 Review it on NewsTrust The question of who will succeed President-elect Barack Obama for Illinios in the U.S. Senate became clouded by the Tuesday arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. While African Americans–political, faith, and community organizations alike–have been openly campaigning to have a Black succeed Obama, who was the only Black in the Senate, a 76-page affidavit by the U.S. Attorney’s office suggests that Blagojevich sought to use the selection for personal and political profit. Federal prosecutors said Blagojevich was on a “political corruption crime spree” that had to end. The 52-year-old Democrat was arrested at his North Side home at 6 a.m. Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and bribery. Also arrested and charged was the governor’s chief of staff, John Harris. The charges allege the governor wanted money and other s
